Marmol, Keelon good as gold at county coaches meet
Canon McMillian's Stephanie Keelon wins the girls varsity division of the Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet at Mingo Park with a time of 20:02:93
Runners compete in the Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet at Mingo Creek County Park
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter Varisity boys from Washington County schools compete during a cross country race at Mingo Creek County Park
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter PeterþÄôs TownshipþÄôs Zack Marmol wins the Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet boys varsity devision ahead of Canon MacþÄôs Josiah Wudkwych with a time of 16:38:16
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter Friends and on course rivals, Peters TownshipþÄôs Zack Marmol and Canon MacþÄôs Josiah Wudkwych hug while being congratulated by JosiahþÄôs dad Michael, after finishing first and second in the boys varisty Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet held at Mingo Creek County Park
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter Girls varisty runners in the Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet make their way up a hill during the race
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter Girls varsity runners make their way through a wooded portion of the Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet held at Mingo Creek County Park
FINLEYVILLE – For most of the 3.1-mile course over the sprawling Mingo Creek County Park, the only thing closer to Josiah Wudkwych than Zack Marmol was Wudkwych’s shadow.
The two seemed to be running in lockstep most of the way until Marmol unleashed something Wudkwych did not have: a stronger kick.
So Marmol, a sophomore from Peters Township, broke free of Wudkwych, a sophomore from Canon-McMillan, over the last 40 meters and won the boys individual race in the Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet Monday afternoon.
Stephanie Keelon, a sophomore from Canon-McMillan, held off Jen Massucci of Peters Township to win the girls individual race by eight seconds. Katie Miller of Peters Township was third.
Marmol crossed in 16:38.16, Keelon in 20:02.93.
Canon-McMillan won the boys team title and Peters Township the girls. The Chartiers-Houston boys and California girls, were the highest finishing small school teams as each took fifth in their respective divisions.
The top small school finishers were Matt Clark of Chartiers-Houston (8th at 17:44.92) and Mikayla Boda of California (10th at 20:00.85).
Marmol and Wudkwych are good friends and have raced against one another numerous times in their young varsity careers.
“We keep each other competitive,” Marmol said. “I’ve beaten him but he’s an excellent runner. He’s closing the gap on me. He keeps me going. Fun stuff.”
Marmol, Wudkwych and Ray Arvizi of Peters Township were bunched together for about the first half of the race. Marmol and Wudkwych began to put some yardage between them and Arvizi late. Marmol’s kick at the end pried him free of Wudkwych.
“I’ve heard some people say I didn’t want it enough to win,” said Marmol, who can put in 45 to 50 miles of training in a strong week. “This year, our team has worked really hard. They ran well today and I’m extremely proud of them.”
Wudkwych said chasing Marmol is making him a better runner and dropping his times.
“I was going to try to get him on the hills,” said Wudkwych. “The first one, I got a lead on him there. The second one, closer to the finish, I didn’t hit as hard as I wanted to and he was able to stay with me.”
Wudkwych’s brother, Jonah, won the race last year.
Keelon said the key to winning the race was not spending a lot of energy at the start of the race.
“I needed to have a kick at the end,” she said. “I knew it was going to be difficult. Those two Peters girls (Massucci and Miller) have been going back and forth with me all season. So I knew they were going to be my competition. I knew if I could stay with them throughout the race, I could possibly outkick them at the end.”
Keelon, who finished third here last year, was hoping to pull away on the hills. But Massucci and Miller stuck close.
“I didn’t know (Miller) would be up with us,” she said. “But it was a good race. I had to hold them off as long as possible to get to my kick.”
Massucci beat her best time on this course by eight seconds. She came in fourth in this event last year.
“The course was a little wet,” she said. “It rained during the race and my shoelace came untied at the end but it didn’t matter. The rain was annoying but I’ll take it over the heat.”